Ask Dr. Rick Your Own Question

my children and two of my siblings have dealt with their whole lives

Resolved Question:

Is there any surgery or procedure that can be done to correct ambliopia? It runs in our family. Two of my children and two of my siblings have dealt with their whole lives. Since wearing the glasses actually makes it harder to see and really doesn't help much unless it was discovered as an infant, and none of them had that kind of head start, none of them wore the glasses, unfortunately. I guess when a child has some other sort of vision problem corrected by glasses they can see much better w with them, which is an incentive to wear them, but people with ambliopia see better without the good eye being patched or shaded (by the glasses) so they don't wear them, or they wear them for years without appreciable improvement on the lazy eye and the quality of their life is diminished. It seems so unfair. One of my sons, who is 25 now, wanted to be a pilot, possibly an astonaut, and my daughter was not accepted at one of the armed forces academies because of ambliopia. Is there any chance people with this condition might someday be able to see normally out of both eyes?

Unfortunately, once the age has passed to treat the decreased vision from amblyopia there is no known affect therapy that will return the vision in that eye to normal (20/20)

Dr. Rick :

As you know the problem in ambylopia is not with the camera( the eye) but rather with the central processing unit (the brain). Since the brain was subjected to double or blurry vision before the age of 7 or so, it decided to "solve" the problem by just not "connecting the wires" to that eye.

Customer:

Is there any hope for the future or is it just sort of like being blind in one eye, even though the eye is not damaged and should be able to work?

Dr. Rick :

I wish that there was something that could be done for your adult children at this point, but I'm afraid that there isn't. Also, any "therapy or treatment" that tells you they can help at this point will just be stealing your money.

Customer:

No one has researched operating on the brain to connecting it?

Dr. Rick :

At this time there is no hope for significant visual improvement...but who knows what the future will bring?

Customer:

I figured that, although I have read about it. The therapy. Must be frustrating to you, as a doctor.

Dr. Rick :

That would be nice, but the brain really doesn't like to be operated on :)

Dr. Rick :

and we are not yet good enough to find the brain fibers (nerves) let alone be able to connect them.

Dr. Rick :

It can be.

Dr. Rick :

But it probably tougher on you as a mother.

Customer:

Do they know how to do that? Maybe this is a problem for Dr. House :)

Customer:

Answered.

Dr. Rick :

I'm sure Dr. House and his team could fix this in less then an hour! lol!

Dr. Rick :

I hope that this information was helpful for you. Please, allow me get credit for my time and effort in assisting you and press the ACCEPT button for this assist. I will be glad to answer additional questions until you are satisfied. Thank you very much.

Positive Feedback and/or Bonus is welcomed and appreciated.

Dr. Rick :

Sorry I don't have information on a cure for your children :(

Dr. Rick :

My wife doesn't like to watch Dr. House with me....say's my comments spoil the show for her :)

Customer:

I love it. I never get tired of it, and think it would be fun to watch with someone who could say whether or not some of the stuff is even slightly feasible. There are three or four diseases that come up on almost every show, but being ignorant, I just watch and enjoy (and daydream)

Customer:

Thank you for your help.

Customer:

Wait, just curious.

Dr. Rick :

My pleasure. Have a great day.

Dr. Rick :

Ok....

Customer:

Have children who have been tested for amblyopia as infants and patched from that point on had better luck jump starting the lazy eye?

Customer:

Just so I can beat myself up a little bit.

Dr. Rick :

Yes, the vast majority of them achieve excellent vision in both eyes, many times to the 20/20 level.

Dr. Rick :

Guess you can get out your stick now.....

Customer:

Well, that's progress. I don't think they were testing kids that early when I was having mine back in the dark ages.

Dr. Rick :

But, hey, maybe you shouldn't beat yourself up too much. I've got 5 kids and we can only do the best that we can at the time as parents.

Customer:

I won't be too hard on myself.

Dr. Rick :

Ok :o)

Customer:

I had five too.

Customer:

Maya Angelou says: We do the best we can with what we know and when we know more we do better.

Dr. Rick :

truth.

Customer:

Just wish I had known then what I know now. VERY FRUSTRATING.

Customer:

Have a nice day.

Dr. Rick :

I just wish life was a little bit longer so I could at least not be so dumb!

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

What Customers are Saying:

I feel so much better today, and upon further investigation believe that there is a chance that the responses I got saved me from a serious, even life threatening situation. I am very grateful to the experts who answered me.Susan O.USA

I feel so much better today, and upon further investigation believe that there is a chance that the responses I got saved me from a serious, even life threatening situation. I am very grateful to the experts who answered me.Susan O.USA

This expert is wonderful. They truly know what they are talking about, and they actually care about you. They really helped put my nerves at ease. Thank you so much!!!!AlexLos Angeles, CA

Thank you for all your help. It is nice to know that this service is here for people like myself, who need answers fast and are not sure who to consult.GPHesperia, CA

I couldn't be more satisfied! This is the site I will always come to when I need a second opinion.JustinKernersville, NC

Just let me say that this encounter has been entirely professional and most helpful. I liked that I could ask additional questions and get answered in a very short turn around. EstherWoodstock, NY

Thank you so much for taking your time and knowledge to support my concerns. Not only did you answer my questions, you even took it a step further with replying with more pertinent information I needed to know. RobinElkton, Maryland

Ask an Eye Doctor

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

58 Eye Doctors are Online Now

Type Your Eye Question Here...

characters left:

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.